Perfect Pumpkin Pairing Tip Ahead: Wine Girl sincerely hopes that she is unlike many of our readers in that she had, until recently, only a casual acquaintance with Port. I blame my inexperience on Port’s hyper-masculine associations. (Think men in leather armchairs, smoking cigars, their wives tucked away in another room). There’s the myth, too, of Port’s preciousness: as in the case with Champagne, many potential Port lovers assume mistakenly that the wine is obscure, expensive, and meant only for special occasions.

That’s too bad, because on the occasion of the Ladies Tasting Society’s recent Port tasting, we were delighted with our selections, one very agreeable example of which one lady bought for less than three gallons of post-Katrina gasoline. And we drank them with the most everyday of winter foods: pecan pie with pumpkin ice cream. Mouthwatering.

Moreover, it turns out that Port is not hard to understand.

Real Port — that is, the sweet, fortified stuff that comes from northern Portugal and is named after the city Oporto — comes in three basic forms: ruby, tawny, and vintage. Ruby is made with grapes from several harvests and aged only briefly; it tends to be the cheapest and most delicious to drink right away. Tawny is also a blend of vintages but is aged, usually in blocks of ten years, before bottling. Vintage Port comes from the grapes of only one harvest, and only one that’s “declared,” that is, deemed by the leading Port makers to be outstanding.

Port vintners in the Duoro river valley make their wine from a blend of native grapes you probably won’t recognize (e.g. touriga nacional, tinta roriz). Outside Portugal, many talented winemakers are making Port-styled wines from zinfandel, cabernet, or whatever grabs them. In most cases, they have to call these wines “port-styled,” because by custom or by law only the sweet red wines from Portugal’s Duoro can be labeled Port.

It is true that vintage Port is rare. And especially if you buy an old bottle, it can be dear. But the ladies have a trick: if you develop (as we did, on the spot) a taste for vintage Port, splurge on a new release once a year and put it in your closet. Forget about it. Really. Like for twenty years. Then, while you wait, pour yourself a yummy glass of ruby and pass that pie.

Tasting Notes: From Port to Starboard
(In the order the ladies tasted them)

Dow Vintage 1994 (Portugal) $99 ($38 when released)
This wine was so juvenile and “closed”—lacking in aroma, monolithic in flavor—that several ladies were stumped. But its figgy, full mouthfeel and brawny tannins caused us to vow we’d meet again in ten years, leather chairs with cigars optional. Visit the winery here

Quady “Starboard” (California) $25
Made from the same grape types they use in Portugal, rather than Zin or something more common stateside. Huge nose of black fruits and holiday spices. Raisin, fruitcake, caramel flavors, with notes of coffee, coat the palate. Ready to drink. All of it. Now. Visit Quady here

Sandeman 20-Year Tawny (Portugal) $40
Orangey-pomegranate colored, with gorgeous aromas of caramel and Grand Marnier. Orange marmalade and nuts for miles on the palate, including pistachio and almond. Endless finish. Visit the winery here

Dow 10-Year Tawny (Portugal) $22
Lighter cranberry color. Figs on the nose, followed by delicious flavors of nuts and fruit, with a clean mouthfeel. Great starter Port, with a good finish and a super price.

Offley Ruby (Portugal) $10
Maybe a bit reserved on the nose. But with its inky dark color and classic Port flavors—raisin, fig, orange liqueur—the ladies found little with which to fault this wine. Learn more about Offley here